​

​

Hey Reader,

Imagine you woke up today and $86,400 was deposited into your account to use for the day. And that every single day, you will get the same amount. How would you spend it? What would you do?

Would you spend it on your loved ones? Would you take a vacation? Would you pay off your debts? Would you quit your job and launch that passion project? Would you share it with your family and friends? Would you go back to school? Or finally, take some time for yourself to rest, eat delicious foods, and enjoy some fun activities?

We often think that to live our most fulfilled lives, the only thing that we need is money.

And so, we disregard the only finite resource we are given every single day by not noticing how precious this resource is, our time.

Every day, you are given 86,400 seconds. And, unlike money, you cannot earn it back, borrow it, or replenish it in any way. Once time has passed, it has passed; it will never come back again.

Frequently, we say things like "I lost track of the time", "I don't have time", or "time went flying", but we rarely take a moment to ask ourselves, "How am I spending my time?", "Who am I spending it with?", and "why?"

This is a call to remind yourself often of the value of time in your life. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day obligations, in the routine, or in a scarcity mindset where we always need to do (and be) more.

But when we forget how valuable (and fleeting) our time really is and we begin to spend it on things that drain us rather than fill us. We give our time away to fear, to comparison, to lack, to resentment, to thinking about the past, to overthinking the future, to scrolling. We want to use our time to prove our worth, instead of expanding our purpose.

When you start reminding yourself that your time is limited, you get choosier, you start acting with a little bit more courage each time, and you start being more present.

Stop waiting for things to change, stop wasting your time on things that don't really matter to you, and start focusing on the things that do.

We are all born with a specific number of days to live; some may have more, some may have less, but we all have our days numbered. What we do with each of those days is up to us.

Stop for a moment and ask this one question:

"If I know for sure this one day is precious and unrepeatable, how do I want to, truthfully, spend it?"

Being more intentional with our time (and by default, our lives) can feel like a struggle sometimes. Here are 3 simple ways to start making the most of your days:

1. Set an 'intention' for the day

Start each day by setting an intention for how you want your day to go. When you set an intention for how you want your day to go, it's less likely that you will react automatically to the things that life unexpectedly throws your way.

Ask yourself: "What kind of energy do I want to bring to this day?"

When we choose to bring joy, peace, or purpose into our days, we are more likely to respond to anything we encounter in our daily lives from those states of being.

2. Protect your 'Yeses'

Every time you say 'yes' to something, you are saying 'no' to something else.

Ask yourself: "Why am I saying 'yes' to this?" Is it coming from alignment or obligation? Are you giving your time out of regret and guilt, or out of passion and meaning?

3. Practice presence

"Be where your feet are."

When you give something your full attention, time expands. Stop chasing the next moment and start being on this one. Time is the container of your life; it can be expanded or it can be shortened, and it is what holds you and every experience you have ever had.

Start spending and investing your time in a way that gives you joy, expresses who you are, and makes you proud.

Exhaust your time in ways that make you feel alive.

Make trust a lifestyle

"What is meant for you is already yours".

Trust that where you are right now is in service of where you are meant to go.

Make trust a lifestyle.

Trust is not a passive thing, it’s an active decision you make every day. Trust is a muscle, it’s something you build every single day, rep by rep.

And it’s not something you necessarily have all the time. It’s something you have to choose to practice daily.

You can start to practice it by trusting yourself with the smallest things. Like those moments when you feel like bringing an umbrella or a jacket, even when it’s sunny outside, and then later on, it starts raining heavily. That's your gut and your intuition sending you small signals.

Start reframing the question of "Why is this happening to me?" to "Why is this happening for me?"

When you give your brain a problem to solve, a question to answer, it will look for the ways in which that is true.

When you start asking yourself why something is happening 'for' you, you start looking for the ways in which that is true. The "filter" in your brain (your Reticular Activating System or RAS) will start to filter in any information that indicates that that's true.

That's why your perspective and perception of things can change when you start believing different things. Becuase it will look for different sensory information and data to indicate that the new belief is true.

Reframe every single delay and rejection as redirection. Start seeing it as an opportunity to create something, to build something within you, to learn, and to grow.

You may not know why things are happening to you. But you can believe they are always happening for your greatest, highest good.

Start acting from a place of faith, not fear.

Because what is truly meant for you is catching up to you right now. You don’t need to force anything because what is meant for you is already magnetized to you.

Let go of the how and the when.

And trust that what is meant for you is already yours.

And on those moments when you are doubting what you should do next, ask yourself this:

"What would the version of me who trusts, do, think, and believe?"

Reflect and create a bank of evidence of all the times trusting yourself has paid off. Notice all the times listening to your inner voice has helped you. Acknowledge how far you have come.

And, whenever you are in a state of lack and scarcity, remind yourself of this:

• You are not stuck; you are being recalibrated.
• You are not behind, you are being realigned.
• You are not rejected, you are being rerouted.
• You are not anywhere you shouldn't be; you are exactly where you need to be.

Life is always giving you many opportunities to become who you are meant to be.

Small mindset shift

"What does this may possible?"

Your mindset encompasses everything you see in your life. It's how you think, how you talk to yourself, and how you become more conscious to break with old habits and behaviors that no longer serve you.

That's why whenever we are in those moments where we are facing challenges, it's easy to get into this "victim mentality" of 'why does everything happen to me', 'why do I do everything wrong', 'why is this happening to me?"

Start changing the inner script and the internal story you are telling yourself.

In those moments when you are facing challenges in your life, start asking yourself:

"What does this make possible?", "What is the opportunity?", "What can I get from this?"

• Maybe it’s a lesson you needed to learn.
• Maybe it’s more time to prepare.
• Maybe it’s the resilience and patience you need to get to the next stage.
• Maybe it's the process to help you change your identity and how you see yourself.

Life is always helping you.

Trust this. And start tapping into your curiosity to discover the hidden possibilities and opportunities there.

If you want better answers, start asking better questions.

Say better "Yeses"

Be mindful of where and why you say 'yes'.

Nowadays, it's easy to feel like we need to do more, hustle more, be everywhere, and say yes to everything.

But we often forget that every 'Yes' you say to something is a 'No' to something else.

That's why it's so important to be more mindful of where and why you say yes.

Before you say YES to something the next time it comes, ask yourself this:

Am I saying 'yes' because I don't want to disappoint or upset other people, or am I saying 'yes' because I'm genuinely excited to commit to that?

And be ruthlessly honest with yourself.

Make a list of the things that are a priority in your life right now. Then, every time you get a new request to do something, check your list and notice if it's aligned with your current priorities. If not, then start practicing becoming more comfortable with saying "no, thank you".

You can even create (and save to use later) a standard message you can use for these situations where you need to communicate your 'no' more assertively and respectfully. Something along the lines:

"Thank you for this opportunity/invitation. My priority right now is to create more work-life balance, my physical and mental health, or different kinds of projects. So, at this moment, I'm choosing the uncomfortable route of saying no to any persons who write me with similar requests. Thank you for your understanding, I hope you the best in your next endeavors."

Oftentimes, saying no to the requests we get from people can feel like torture, because we don't want to disappoint others.

Start by making choices that won't disappoint you and start saying 'no' to the things that aren't aligned with the life (and the priorities) you are working to create right now.

When you are looking for more purpose...

Follow the things that bring you positive energy

It’s not what you do every day (and not even why you do it) that gives you a sense of purpose and meaning, it’s how you feel about what you do every day that changes your experience of it.

When you are feeling stuck, you may not be able to change what surrounds you or the situation that is happening, but you can change how you view it and how you look at it. Because then, everything starts to change in your favor.

When you take those things that naturally bring you energy and lift you up. And then, you figure out ways to bring those things in service of others, you are on the track of discovering why you are here in the first place, and you are aligning your life with meaning and purpose.

And know that your purpose doesn’t have to be something big.

It's simply using your passion and the things that excite you and bring you joy and putting them in service of others, in the smallest of ways, in the simplest of ways.

Start by infusing a sense of purpose into your day-to-day life in really small, but deeply meaningful ways. And trust that where you are is in service of where you are meant to go.

Follow the things that give you energy and how you can serve others by sharing that energy. That's how you actually start walking in the path that is meant for you.

Leverage that positive energy in service of others, as that will always point to where you are meant to go.

And know this: What you want, what energizes you, is often not loud; it’s often not a big scream you can hear from the other room. What you really want comes to you in quiet little whispers; in signs that feel quiet and small, in the tiny voice in your head telling you "you want more".

Look at the clues, at the footprints, at the steps behind, and don’t take them for granted.

Some things may look good on paper

They can only be experienced on the ground

Some things look good on paper, but they are lived very differently on the ground.

There are some things that, when you look at them from above, create the illusion of certainty, but what you experience on the ground is what creates the experience of them.

What may look on paper as the "perfect job", the "perfect career", the "perfect partner", the "perfect relationship", the "perfect house", may feel different when you are actually experiencing them.

The takeaway: Stop overthinking every decision. Stop overanalyzing. Stop trying to create a plan that looks "perfect" on paper. The reality of what you experience will be defined live on the ground.

Make a decision, take a direction, and readjust and redirect as needed.

A quote to end the week

Clarity comes from action

The clarity you are looking for comes simply from getting started. If you have ever wanted to build something (a business, a new way of making money, a new habit, an audience, a different future), know that more often than not, you won't have the full vision of it until you start taking messy action first and discovering new layers of the vision.

Stop letting fear and self-doubt keep you stuck, and instead, start by taking a small step aligned with the direction you would like to go.

Love creating your mind one day at a time? Forward this to a friend so they can get in on the action and sign up below. Subscribe to The Created Mind Thank you for reading and sharing, Jenny ​​​​

​